A former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party and rejoined the ruling All Progressives Congress, ending months of intense speculation about his political future.
The announcement came on Sunday at his residence on Mundubawa Avenue in Kano, where his home had been decorated with APC posters ahead of the declaration . He was joined by Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo, a prominent PDP chieftain who defected alongside him .
Shekarau informed party loyalists that the decision followed wide consultations and careful consideration of available political options. He asked the crowd whether they agreed with the collective resolution and urged anyone opposed to the move to speak up, receiving unanimous support in response .
The defection came just hours after he submitted his resignation letter to the PDP Chairman of Giginyu Ward in Nassarawa Local Government Area, stating that his exit from the party took immediate effect .
The move represents the latest twist in Shekarau’s long and eventful political career. He served as Kano State governor from 2003 to 2011 under the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, making history as the first challenger to unseat an incumbent governor in the state when he defeated Rabiu Kwankwaso in 2003 . Shekarau was a founding member of the APC but left after the party merged, citing conflicts with Kwankwaso, who had also joined the APC. He returned to the PDP in 2014, rejoined the APC in 2018, defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party in 2022, and returned to the PDP later that same year before this latest return to the APC .
His defection comes against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting political landscape in Kano, widely regarded as Nigeria’s most politically significant state due to its massive voting population. In January 2026, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf formally returned Kano State to the APC, bringing with him 22 out of 24 Assembly members, nine federal lawmakers, and all 44 local government chairmen in what observers described as a coordinated migration rather than a simple defection . Governor Yusuf had been elected in 2023 on the platform of the NNPP, riding the formidable Kwankwasiyya political machine built by his mentor Rabiu Kwankwaso, but his return to the APC signaled a clean rupture with Kwankwaso’s movement .
The APC had been courting Shekarau for months as part of a broader strategy to consolidate the party’s hold on Kano. In February 2026, the APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, visited Shekarau at his residence to personally invite him back to the party . Governor Yusuf also held meetings with Shekarau in Abuja in early April as part of ongoing consultations to persuade him to rejoin the APC . The party had reportedly approved a 40/60 formula to accommodate both existing members and new entrants in the state’s party structure, signaling readiness to integrate defectors .
Shekarau’s political rivalry with Kwankwaso has been a defining feature of Kano politics for over two decades. The two former governors have repeatedly clashed, with each defection often driven by power struggles within the state’s political landscape. Following Governor Yusuf’s departure from the NNPP to the APC, Kwankwaso himself defected to the African Democratic Congress, further fragmenting opposition forces in the state . A senior APC member in Kano described Shekarau as a critical piece in the party’s consolidation strategy, noting that he commands a well-established grassroots structure across all 44 local government areas, with strong loyalty among clerics, community leaders, and older voters . His return to the APC is widely expected to significantly reduce the political space for opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
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